Robotics

For 3 years, ColRobot worked on the development of collaborative robotics to help overcome some of the biggest common challenges in the automotive and aerospace industries, such as large backlogs of orders and the need for flexibility to meet market demands. The crown jewel of their innovative technology was a robotic mobile manipulator which acts as a 'third hand' for production line workers.

Tunisian authorities have increased their coronavirus security measures by deploying robots in the streets to enforce the country's lockdown orders.

Can robots be effective tools in combating the COVID-19 pandemic? A group of leaders in the field of robotics say yes, and outline a number of examples.

Market forecasts taken from IDTechEx report "Hearables 2020-2030: Technology, Players and Forecasts"

Geely Auto has launched its own proprietary online sales system for ordering online that included the modification of vehicle specifications, online financing and insurance as well as giving the option of establishing a home delivery in a contactless solution.

Researchers find that a motorized device that attaches around the ankle and foot can drastically reduce the energy cost of running.

Recent developments bring into focus the motivation, and at times the imperative, to increase automation in the logistics and delivery chain. IDTechEx have been examining the technological and commercial trends in this field for several years.

In its recently published report "Innovations in Robotic Surgery 2020-2030", IDTechEx forecasts that the robotic surgery market will reach over $12 billion by 2030. The report breaks down the market landscape and emerging technologies in the field of robotic surgery.

One of the last frontiers. Little used because the devices are not good enough. It lies between the much used microwave and infrared frequencies. Terahertz electromagnetic radiation has come centre stage recently with major breakthroughs claimed for THz emitters, trillionth-of-a-second switches, modulators and the sensors and there are conferences on the subject in several countries.

UPS Flight Forward will collaborate with German drone-maker Wingcopter to develop the next generation of package delivery drones for a variety of use cases in the United States and internationally.

Inspecting fuel and ballast tanks. Sand-blasting old paint coatings and applying new ones. Removing corrosion on ships, submarines, aircraft and other vehicles. These are some of the unpleasant jobs in naval shipyards and maintenance facilities that could be made safer by pairing human workers with robots.

Researchers have developed a new device for connecting the brain directly to silicon-based technologies. While brain-machine interface devices already exist - and are used for prosthetics, disease treatment and brain research - this latest device can record more data while being less intrusive than existing options.

In the past decade, mobility-as-a-service (MaaS) has attracted significant attention as it holds the potential to disrupt the business model of the traditional automotive industry and the way people travel.

Electrics and robotics squares the circle of seeking a wider variety of depleting materials in nastier, more remote places from the seafloor to four kilometres underground, up remote mountains and later outer space. Zero-emission microgrids on-site, sensors everywhere and new information and communications technology lubricate the process.

Flexible temporary electronic displays may one day make it possible to sport a glowing tattoo or check a reading, like that of a stopwatch, directly on the skin. In its current form, however, this technology generally depends on plastic. New research describes a way to make these displays, which would likely be discarded after a single use, more environmentally friendly using a plentiful and biodegradable resource: fish scales.

In the modern age, new technology such as digital farming promises even further advancements in agriculture methods, but what exactly will the future of farming look like?

Forecasts taken from IDTechEx report "Innovations in Robotic Surgery 2020-2030: Technologies, Players & Markets"

Vertical farming is the practice of growing plants indoors under fully controlled environmental conditions in many stacked layers, using artificial lighting instead of relying on the sun. By tuning the growing environment to the exact needs of the plant and using soil-free growing techniques, vertical farming can achieve yields hundreds of times higher than conventional agriculture, 365 days a year and without requiring pesticides.

DARPA's Manta Ray Program aims to demonstrate critical technologies for a new class of long duration, long range, payload-capable unmanned underwater vehicles that operate for extended durations without the need for on-site human logistics support or maintenance offer the potential for persistent operations during longer term deployments.

Sensry - Platform for All Integrated Smart & Secure Sensors Sensry offers sensor nodes with customizable hardware configurations. The "Universal Sensor Platform" (USeP) under development in partnership with industry leaders offers customers a flexible, fast and reliable sensor platform for their products and application. Due to a standardized modular architecture based on a leading-edge low power technology and a wide selection of mutually compatible components, customers can create their individual sensor according to their requirements. The sensor platform combines cutting-edge assembly and packaging technologies with new design methods and an inherent data security and authentication concept.